UEG-103R Rhode Operator
The UEG-103R Rhode Operator, designated as Unified Earth Government 103 ρ Rhode Operator, and most commonly referred to as Rhode Operator was one of the mobile suits developed by the Unified Earth Government for use with the Unified Earth Defense Force. It was produced by Revolutech Advanced Industries, a mega corporation that would later become responsible for the production of all the Unified Earth Government's military equipment. Described as an enhanced version of the UEG-103A Operator, the UEG-103R Rhode Operator was named after Timothy Rhodes, who was supposedly the best pilot within the Unified Earth Government. Based on UEG-103A Operator Timothy Custom, it was a limited-production general-purpose mobile suit redesigned and built solely for the elite pilots of Rhode Squadron (111th Tactical Mobile Squadron). The unit was featured in the Fanon Series, Mobile Suit Gundam Galactic. It was a redesigned version of the UEG-103A Operator, built to the exact specifications of Ace Pilot Timothy Rhodes and hardly shared any similarities with its predecessor mobile suit. Technology and Combat Characteristics Armaments UEG00 "Scar" 75mm Multi-barrel Close-in Weapon System x2: Alternatively referred to as the "Scar" Multi-barrel CIWS, the weapons were located on the left and right side of the UEG-103R Rhode Operator's head. Although the "Scar" Multi-barrel CIWS was designed for anti-air purposes, it can also be used to distract mobile suits, shoot down missiles. and destroy armored vehicles. 3-tube Waist-mounted Grenade Launcher x 2: UEG-AW Customizable Beam Rifle: Compared to the standard beam rifle utilized by other mobile suits, the UEG-AW Customizable Beam Rifle was a superior weapon in all aspects. It had a stronger output and an enhanced rate of fire. In most cases, the UEG-AW series was able to destroy an enemy mobile suit in one shot, provided that it wasn't layered with anti-beam coating. This was largely attributed to its advanced nature, as it was intended to be the standard weapon for the next generation of mobile suits. The UEG-AW series can either draw power from E-PACs or through a direct connection to the mobile suits generator. Each Beam Rifle came with three E-PACs, all of which were kept stored on right arm rack. *'Single-Fire Mode': The standard configuration of the UEG-AW Beam Rifle. The Beam Rifle's rate of fire was slow but it allowed for more accurate and powerful shots. *'Burst-Fire Mode': Burst-Fire Mode allowed the UEG-AW Beam Rifle to fire in short, controlled bursts. UEG-AW Beam Saber: Beam Sabers were the standard close combat weapon for mobile suits produced by the Unified Earth Government. The UEG-AW Beam Saber was the latest in Beam Saber technology and had a stronger beam output than previous versions. In addition, it possessed the distinct ability to immediately extend its blade length to twice its size, which allowed the wielder to catch an opponent off guard. When not in use, it was stored within the left forearm of the mobile suit.The UEG-103R Rhode Operators under the Human Federation would later replace their UEG-AW Beam Saber with a Superior Sonic Vibration Blade. G-Plate Shield Ver. 5 ρ Custom: :2-tube Missile Launcher: System Features Hardpoint: Like with all mobile suits utilized by the Unified Earth Defense Force, the UEG-103R Rhode Operator possessed one hardpoint located on its back, which allowed it to mount auxiliary combat armaments called Liberty Support Frames. However, the hardpoint was primarily used to mount an Enhanced Booster Backpack. Liberty Support Frame: Due to the inclusion of a hardpoint at the back of the UEG-103R Rhode Operator, it possessed the ability to mount a Liberty Support Frame. Liberty Support Frames were auxiliary combat armaments that allowed an equipped mobile suit to assume multiple combat roles for any type of situation. However, the Rhode Operator generally did not deploy with a Liberty Support Frame, as most pilots preferred to use the EB "Pegasus" Backpack in combat. Enhanced Booster Backpack: Alternatively referred to as the EB "Pegasus" Backpack, it was backpack specially designed for speed. The "Pegasus" Backpack gave the UEG-103R Rhode Operator an enormous amount of potential thrust, so much that it was able to out thrust the vast majority of mobile suits and starships alike. As a result, the pilots of the UEG-103R Rhode Operator consistently declared that it was able to keep it up with even the fastest Gundam-type Mobile Suits out there. The maximum thrust the EB "Pegasus" Backpack could safely achieve was 89030 kg and 90100 kg with the safety restrictions unlocked. Anti-beam Coating: History Discontinuation & Legacy By GC 142, the UEG-103R Rhode Operator was discontinued due to the heavy scrutiny garnered by Rhode Squadron after the assassination of a defecting Timothy Rhodes. Surviving units of the UEG-103R Rhode Operator were either disassembled, given to the Shirolists, or were stolen by members of Rhode Squadron who defected to the Human Federation. The Rhode Operators that continued to be used by the Rhode Squadron defectors were upgraded and heavily modified, so much so that they were considered an entirely new mobile suit altogether. The Federation's primary mobile suit manufacturer, Regal Incorporated, liked the design of the Rhode Operator so much that they decided to continue the production of the mobile suit specifically for UEG defectors, eventually calling it the HFMS-0MX3 Eos. These UEG defectors were later grouped into the 32nd Operational Battalion and 41st Operational Battalion respectively. Gallery Notes Trivia *The Human Federation Battalions: the 32nd Operational Battalion and the 41st Operational Battalion, were entirely composed of stolen UEG-103R Rhode Operators or its spiritual successor unit, HFMS-0MX3 Eos. Behind the Scenes *The creation of the UEG-103R Rhode Operator was largely a reference to the creation of the from the Gundam Series, . The UEG-103R Rhode Operator was based on the UEG-103A Operator Timothy Custom, much like how the was derived from the . *The Images utilized by the UEG-103R Rhode Operator were derived from the , an advanced limited-production mobile suit utilized by the , in the Gundam Series, .